Environmental Lawyer

Summary

Environmental Law is the branch of law that focuses on safeguarding the environment from harmful emissions, habitat destruction, and various forms of pollution, including air and water pollution. Therefore Environmental Lawyers are responsible for safeguarding and upholding the environmental laws enforced by the government. This includes advising, legally representing, promoting the policies and litigating cases when it comes to environmental issues. They string through the different environmental regulations and trace their way through the legal system to preserve the ecosystem around us.

Career Opportunities

Work with NGOs, provide legal aid, and offer legal advice.

Write and critique legal events, cover cases, and report on them.

Open law firms and have lawyers and paralegals work under them, oversee cases, represent clients, etc.

Teach legal courses in colleges and universities, impart knowledge regarding this subject, counsel, and guide students, and curate quizzes and exams for them.

Conduct research, find data and review legal documents and files to support the legal arguments.

Represent communities and non-profit organisations in legal actions aimed at protecting the environment.

Offer expert advice on environmental impact assessments, remediation projects, and sustainability strategies.

Advise businesses and organisations on how to comply with environmental laws and regulations.

How to Pursue a Career

Stream Graduation After Graduation After Post Graduation

path 1

Arts B.A. LLB LLM or MA in Legal Studies -

path 2

Commerce B.Com. LLB MBA in Legal Studies -

path 3

Science B.Sc. LLB M.Sc. in Forensic Science or M.Sc. in Criminology -

Skills and Qualities
• Communication Skills: Ability to effectively communicate with all the parties involved and put forward their case.
• Persuasive Skills: Ability to persuade witnesses, judges, and the jury to pull the case in their favour.
• Observation Skills: Ability to be highly observant and have a keen eye for details to check out everything that can be used in their case.
• Problem-Solving Skills: Ability to easily solve case-related problems thrown their way.
• Time Management Skills: Ability to effortlessly manage the schedules of the parties involved and meet the deadlines, court dates, etc.
• Analytical Reasoning: Ability to use logic and reasoning to identify discrepancies, evidence, etc.

Occupational Profile
• Represent Clients: Meet with clients, represent them in the court of law, and build a case.
• Preparing Documents Files: Arrange the required documents and files and prepare them to be submitted in court.
• Find Witnesses: Scour and find witnesses and persuade them to give their statements.
• Prepare Arguments: Write compelling arguments, find evidence and put forward a case.
• Analyse Data: Analyse and go through the data, evidence, and arguments presented to jot down the related information.
• Draft Correspondence: Write and formulate drafts to officially communicate with the different parties involved.
• Counsel Clients: Advocate, advise and counsel clients to provide them with the best possible defence.

Leading Institute

University Location Website NLU Delhi-National Law University H2XF+V8C, Golf Course Rd, Pocket 1, Sector 14 Dwarka, Dwarka, New Delhi, Delhi, 110078

https://nludelhi.ac.in

Symbiosis Law School Symbiosis Law School Rd, Opposite Pune Airport, Mhada Colony, Viman Nagar, Pune, Maharashtra 411014

http://www.symlaw.ac.in

NLU Kolkata WBNUJS Boys Hostel, National university of juridical sciences 12, LB Block, Sector 3, Bidhannagar, Kolkata, West Bengal 7000+8

https://www.nujs.edu

KIIT- Kalinga of Industrial Technology KIIT Rd, Patia, Bhubaneswar, Odisha 751024

https://kiit.ac.in

Jindal Global Law School Sonipat Narela Road, Near Jagdishpur Village, Sonipat, Haryana 131001

https://jgu.edu.in

Abroad Institute

College Location Website Harvard University Massachusetts Hall, Cambridge, MA 02138, United States

https://www.harvard.edu

Stanford University 450 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA +4305, United States

http://www.stanford.edu

University of Cambridge The Old Schools, Trinity Ln, Cambridge CB2 1TN, United Kingdom

https://www.cam.ac.uk

University of Oxford Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2JD, United Kingdom

https://www.ox.ac.uk

Columbia University 116th and Broadway, New York, NY 10027, United States

https://www.columbia.edu

Entrance Exam

Exams Tentative Date Important Elements Website CLAT December English language, Current Affairs, General knowledge, Legal Reasoning

https://consortiumofnlus.ac.in

AILET December English language, Current Affairs, General knowledge, Legal Reasoning

https://nationallawuniversitydelhi.in

SLAT May Reading Comprehension, Logical Reasoning, Legal Reasoning, Analytical Reasoning, General Knowledge

https://www.set-test.org

LSAT India January to May Analytical reasoning, Logical Reasoning, Reading Comprehension

https://lsatindia.in

DU LLB March Analytical Abilities, General Knowledge, Legal Awareness and Aptitude, English Language, Comprehension

https://lawfaculty.du.ac.in

Pros Cons of a Career

Pros
• Lawyers are dealt with high prestige and respect making this career a highly honourable one.
• There is a high level of salary and compensation as it is very financially rewarding with many benefits.
• This field is a highly demanding one, resulting in high job security and plenty of job opportunities.
• As this is an intellectually stimulating job, there is a lot of room for personal growth.

Cons
• This field can be highly stressful, resulting in health issues if not taken care of.
• Due to the long work timings, one would have to put in a lot of hours, including overtime.
• Clients can be difficult and handling them can be a task if they remain unsatisfied with one's work.
• If the public doesn’t like the clients, they might have a bad impression of the lawyers representing them.

Industry Trends
• Climate Change Laws: There is a growing focus on climate laws, with people asking for more and more laws to protect the environment by seeking governments and private resources to make the changes.
• Renewable Energy: There is a swift rise in the need and use of renewable energy to minimise the environmental effects on the planet, with the replacements of solar panels, bioenergy, wind power, etc.
• Waste Management: People have started to learn and implement waste management tactics and recycle most resources possible by composting, bioremediation, using them as animal feed, etc.
• International Environmental Law: With the world becoming more interconnected with each other, international laws and policies have been kept in place to protect the planet and address global issues.
• Holding Corporations Responsible: People have started demanding that government and private corporations be held responsible for the damage they inflict on the planet and bring outlaws to minimise these adverse effects.
• Integration of Indigenous Rights: Laws are being introduced to protect indigenous laws, as well as protect traditional laws.
• Regulation of Electronic Waste: Electronic waste regulation laws came into action recently, with more laws being placed to make sure they minimise the electronic waste in the country.
• Circular Economy: This is a fresh idea introduced to create a system without any loopholes to ensure that the waste has been minimised through processes such as sharing, leasing, recycling, etc.
• Regulations on Unsafe Chemicals: Stricter rules are being imposed and introduced on the use and disposal of hazardous chemicals to make sure the environment, the people, and the fauna remain safe.
• Environmental Regulations: These are laws that impose limitations and responsibilities on the individuals who then uphold these laws. Read more